8th HOUR
by Neil Davies
Summary: It is the final hurrah for the 8th Doctor and a desperate battle against a ruthless and resourceful enemy who has penetraded the TARDIS. The companion is Alex, one of my own creations. For those unfamiliar with her Alex is a punk girl from 1977 who joined


10

8th HOUR

The sinister resonating chime seemed to echo through Alex's brain never mind the labyrinthine corridors of infinity, through which she was running in what felt like slow motion. Around her everything was a dark blur, it was as though the clearly defined features of the ship had melted and run in all directions. The only thing solid was the floor for which she was grateful, it carried her away from the faulty, screaming control room along endless white arteries to an ancient, vine covered set of cloisters that could have been part of some medieval university.

She had tried shouting his name but it did no good, either he couldn't or wouldn't answer, maybe he was hurt or like her just disoriented although she hadn't often seen him knocked out of his stride no matter what happened to this weird ship that defied every physical law.

Eventually Alex paused next to a small fountain the central feature of which was an ugly, possibly alien gnome with outstretched hands. Around it were stiff leaved plants with sour butter petals and hooked thorns that looked none too friendly. She was surprised to see a glistening object in the left palm of the gnome, it was the Doctor's ring the one he never took off not during avalanche, flood, cave in or mass alien attack.

But he had taken it off now – why, there was no obvious threat.

The TARDIS had just flipped out, its systems crashing and its interior structure losing cohesion. Alex ran the ring over in her fingers thinking how beautiful it was, heavy yet not clumsy its central gem extremely dense. There were no words just symbols and these looked ancient and esoteric, no doubt they were significant to the owner. Why Doctor, why remove your most precious possession?

Alex circled the gnome wondering where to go next, as she was looking far off she failed to notice something close in until her fingers brushed against it. The handkerchief was pale cream with flowered edges and in the centre was a large question mark. The Doctor had thousands of them but all were slightly different with no two the same, and this one was his latest. Again its abandonment made no sense and it worried her as though something cataclysmic were occurring, some life changing crisis that nobody had thought to tell her about.

She tripped over the shoe and had to touch down with both hands before see the Doctor's legs, one out straight with the other bent, hands holding the ears, head face down, chest not obviously moving. The dark curly hair was a tangled mess, well more of a mess then, it seemed to have become longer and more tangled of late as the skin paled and eyes darkened.

"Doctor?" She tried to turn him over but he was a dead weight, his muscles as limp as a cats. He wasn't dead, which was a relief, but he was inert. The eyes were open but unfocused, and the jaw seemed slack. The dynamic man in his mid thirties now looked gaunt, drained and in his forties with very pale lips, even the eyes were less blue if that were possible.

"Doctor something's wrong with the ship, the central console has gone offline, the time rotor is jammed and there are some very strange noises coming from just about everywhere."

The ominous bell chimed again, it was getting louder and more echoing as it took on a mournful regret. He had once told her it only sounded in times of maximum crisis, and looking at him now she had to admit this seemed to be the case as man and ship had fallen into a sickening torpor.

"What can I do Doctor, is there any way to land the TARDIS so she can repair herself?"

His lips moved slightly, a pale tongue protruding over the teeth, blinking several times he made a noise in the back of his throat but this did not constitute a word. Not knowing why Alex took out the ring and let him see this, as if in some way his possessing it gave him greater strength but then why would he remove it in the first place if it was crucial to his health?

He snatched it and this time his throat produced, "Thank you Alex."

It went back on its usual finger with a grunt he rose onto his elbows, the large ruby in the centre of the ring beginning to glow and the glow was back in his eyes to.

"What's going on," she had promised never to ask this question but now she really needed to know because this was all beyond her.

"I was drawn here," he told her making it clear with posture and gaze that he meant drawn here against his will. "And attacked, and whatever attacked me removed my ring."

She was none the wiser, why steal something and leave it where it could so obviously be found, but okay this was his story and she wanted to listen.

"My ring is a crucial control system, it enables me to bypass certain tedious long-winded operations. Me, and somebody else."

An intruder in the ship, it was an incredible idea they hadn't landed for ages so how could anyone get aboard? The Doctor sat up and brushed his frock coat down.

"So where is the intruder now?" Alex enquired.

"Not far away," he told her and she instinctively looked around wondering if there was anything close to hand she could use as a weapon?

"Help me up," he said and she did so thinking how thin his arms were and how weak he seemed compared to normal.

"You're ill," she said before she could stop herself and meeting her gaze he swallowed.

"I'm losing artron energy." He had once told her what this was, some vital component of his species a bit like chi possibly. Showing her his palms he winced, there were small black rings on both palms and his finger ends looked grey.

"You haven't been yourself for a while now, you seem tired all the time and very pale like you're anaemic."

He nodded not challenging this assessment, "Yes it's coming Alex I've felt it in my bones for a while now, I've tried to ignore it but there's no hiding from the truth. This life, this part of my life is drawing to a close, I'm near the end of my eighth incarnation and somebody knows it, knows it and intends to use the crisis against me."

He sat down on a low wall and gave a heartfelt sigh, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him it was only natural. She had seen him at his best, dynamic, insightful and even inspired now she was seeing a vulnerable Doctor, old and tired and being hunted.

"But who could know about that, we haven't materialised in a while and you were okay at our last destination?"

Wiping his eyes with a small blue hanky he glanced up and gave a weak smile, "I'm going to have to rely on you for once Alex, I'll need your youth and vitality as my own falters."

Her nod was positive and body language poised, of course he could rely on her how often had she been forced to rely on him during the many dangers they had faced?

"We must," he said. "Find the intruder before he does anymore damage."

Easier said than done in her view, this was one big ship at least on the inside. "I don't see any obvious clues."

But his smile told her a different story and picking himself up he rubbed his ring as if for luck, something they were both going to need in buckets full she thought.

"Clue one – he drew me here, I mean here specifically. He could have attacked me in any old side corridor or back room but he chose this location the cloisters. Clue two – he didn't kill me or at least not right away so whatever he has in mind he requires me to be alive. Clue three…"

But Alex interrupted, "He didn't draw me away or attack me so I'm not perceived as a threat."

The Doctor smiled in a patient, accepting kind of way that said very good Alex but not quite what I was going to say.

"The key thing here is the fact that he _could_ influence me, mentally I mean. Modesty aside I possess no mean mind yet this character overruled me, he was able to reach out and control me albeit briefly, now what does that tell us?"

Again she was quick to speak as though keen to impress him, "Advanced telepathic ability combined with hypnotic skills?"

He made a humming sound then nodded at some fronds that overlapped the cloister path, several were broken and two had been torn completely away, it looked to her as though someone had rushed by not caring what damage he caused.

"Not very subtle," the Doctor said. "As if he wants us to follow a trail."

In her view they had very little choice and going over to the fronds she tried to rip one herself and found she couldn't, it was as tough as leather. "I don't think this was done in passing haste."

"No it's a message as clear as a white arrow." Joining her he ran a thumb over the damaged fronds, "These have been cut by a narrow particle beam you can just see the burning."

Alex squinted and he was right, even in his weakened state the Doctor had better eyesight than she did. Beyond the fronds a small stone ornament had been knocked over and had smashed on the floor, it didn't look very impressive to Alex but the Doctor ran to it with a cry of frustration.

"Oh why did he have to do this, it's one of a kind and irreplaceable almost as if he was trying to hurt me personally."

She watched him kneel down and carefully pick up the fragments by hand, and she thought how hurt he looked, his features pinched.

Then she said, "The bell has stopped."

He blinked at her and she repeated, "The cloister bell is silent."

Carefully the Doctor placed the broken pieces onto a bench, there were several of these dotted along the path giving it a park-like appearance. Load discharged he wavered slightly as if about to lose his footing, Alex went over but he waved her away.

"I'm all right, at least for now. The bell hasn't just stopped it's been switched off, which is almost impossible."

"It occurs to me Doctor that this alien knows a lot about you and your TARDIS."

Yes my thoughts exactly his face told her with his voice he said, "We'll follow this path it bisects the entire Cloisters and leads to the bell chamber, where no doubt other clues will await us."

"Doctor instead of just following the intruder, couldn't we anticipate his next move? I mean logically what could he do next, go to the control room?"

"Well you just came from there Alex, what state is she in?"

Chaotic was the kindest word she could think of to use, everything offline and defective with lots of strange internal clunking noises and deforming roundels. No maybe the intruder wouldn't go there.

"Is there anywhere else onboard where you can control the TARDIS, a back up control room?"

He was running before she'd finished, well staggering and half-walking and waving her to follow.

"I know a shortcut," he said breathlessly. "One that nobody else is aware of, well apart from Sarah-Jane that is and she isn't here anymore."

Reaching a portion of thick hedge he began to pat the briars and branches in a desperate attempt to find something, the effort was tiring and he soon sagged against the foliage with sweat beading his cheeks and top lip.

"Help me Alex, there's an access control panel here somewhere. I sealed the secondary control room after I stopped using it, but it's still viable and if we can get there…"

Needing no further encouragement she scratched her own fingers and wrists in a vigorous search. Gloves would have been nice, no make that a pair of shears. There was a stone wall behind the hedge but it was just stone, cold and grey and not terribly helpful.

"You're sure this is the right place Doctor?"

His breath was ragged now and if anything he seemed paler than before but he nodded once sharply, yes he was sure.

Then her nails probed something within the stone, a recess made up of six circular knobs. When she called out he came to her to say, "Press them in sequence Alex." He gave her the sequence and she followed it slavishly.

Nothing happened.

He frowned, and she bit her lip.

"All right let's try something else," a second sequence was offered.

"This isn't doing anything either, maybe the door is jammed or locked."

He wiped his face with a palm, "I really am slowing down I forgot." And reaching past her he placed his own right palm against the stone. "My genetic print is required, there that should do it now key in the sequence again."

Which one she thought, then did the first.

Instantly the hedge parted and beyond it the wall split down the middle to reveal a normal looking wooden door with a large metal ring, the Doctor grabbed and turned this. One moment later they were in a world of wood panelling, a dark and rather gothic room dominated by a six-sided console that was more like a complicated Edwardian desk. This was smaller than the normal control room, barely a third of its size but when the Doctor peeled back some panel on hinges the familiar terminals were revealed.

"This looks older and simpler," she said. "I hope it's just as effective." At least the systems appeared to be online and there were no strange groans. He brought up a complex graphic, a grid of lines and circles most of which were blue but a small portion was glaringly red.

"Yes you can see the damage, or should I say sabotage."

His fingers played over keys like a master pianist, unable to help him she went on walkabout to familiarise herself with this (for her) new and unseen area of the ship. There were old-fashioned drawers set into the walls, a wardrobe, a sideboard and even a cocktail cabinet.

"I can see your obsession with earth in everything here," she said but he was too distracted to respond. Moving on she came to a collection of old books by authors she' never heard of, a large grandfather clock and beside that a gentleman's writing desk.

On top of this was a large notebook, which was open to the front page and on this was written in black ink 'as one life ends another begins'.

"When did you write this Doctor – as one life ends another begins?'"

Glancing up tiredly he hung onto the console with hooked fingers, "I didn't."

"Yes you did, it's right here." And lifting the book she turned it to let him see.

"Alex, that isn't my handwriting."

A stab of shock passed right through her, what had he just said? "But it must be."

"Trust me to know my own writing style."

"But you said you changed into different men."

"Yes but my handwriting is one thing that never changes."

He made his way over using the console for support and she was struck by how elderly his movements were, how forced. "Plus this ink is fresh," he touched the page and some of the letters smudged.

He's here, the blue eyes told her, he got here ahead of us.

"Do you recognise this writing style then," she asked?

"I'm not sure."

"We are talking about another time lord though aren't we, I mean who else could get aboard and do all these things, who else knows you so well?"

Refusing to commit himself the Doctor sat down in a rocking chair, "Alex go to terminal three, the one in darker coloured wood and insert this into it." Taking off his ring he handed it to her, entrusting her with something highly precious. Accepting the gift with reverence she nodded and went over to the terminal, there was a small panel and once opened this revealed a slot.

"What will this do," she enquired?

"Hopefully expose the face of the enemy," he said with an edge to his voice she didn't quite like.

"This is dangerous isn't it, as in risky to us and the TARDIS?"

There was no denial from the chair, just a wave for her to continue.

"What will happen when I insert the ring?"

"Hopefully the saboteur will be exposed and his free movement within the ship curtailed."

"And if he's anticipated this?"

"There are some things even the best informed intruder can't anticipate Alex."

She turned the ring around and inserted it stone first, he said. "Three turns clockwise then push there's nothing else to do."

She turned once then twice then paused. "We are safe in here aren't we?"

"At this precise moment Alex, we're not safe anywhere – now one more turn."

She turned but before she could push a hand closed around her wrist and wrenched it backwards, the ring snapped leaving its stone within the slot, the rest of it flew away across the room.

The hand holding Alex was a gauntlet of some thick, strong dark material and around the wrist was a metal band studded with small winking lights. She felt a hot breath on her neck and a large, strong body pressed against her back. Whatever this thing was it was big, bigger than her or the Doctor.

"Good of you to join us," the time lord said from his seat without turning.

Turning Alex looked up into a blurred, liquid montage of a face with eyes overlapping eyes, a nose with five or six other noses shadowing it, about eight mouths and a swirling, semi-solid oasis of cheekbone, brow, chin and hair.

The Doctor said, "He's wearing a chameleonic wrap, on some planets it's regarded as the height of personal cloaking, although why he should be so shy now I don't know, I mean he does have the upper hand and half my artron energy."

Dressed all in black the intruder pulled Alex away from the console and lifted a sharp, silver needle to her neck. The needle seemed to grow out of his other gauntlet, "Half." Hissed an amplified, artificial and clearly distorted voice. "Is not enough."

Alex knew enough about artron energy to realise that if the Doctor lost all of it he would die, which presumably was what the intruder wanted. With a needle pressed to her jugular she wasn't in a position to argue or even swallow properly, but the Doctor remained calm in the face of adversity.

"If you want more," he said. "You must promise not to harm my companion, you must further promise to drop her off on a habitable, civilised planet because when I start to die so will this TARDIS, you have taken that into consideration I hope?"

The helmet nodded once and Alex was released with a shove, then the needle was aimed at her friend. "No tricks," he was told by the synthesized hiss.

"Oh no of course not, but the transfer can't be done here we have to go to the medical bay. There's a log there for me to record my will. You are going to let me record my will aren't you?"

Again a curt nod, "We will go, this girl will remain here."

Again the arrogant dismissal, never had Alex felt so unwanted or unworthy. "Doctor, no." She pleaded.

"It's all right Alex, I've had a good life and I'm tired maybe this is for the best."

She couldn't believe her ears, why was he giving in so meekly without even the hint of a fight?

"What about regeneration?"

"Been there, done that, do I really want another four or five lives? The only life that matters now is yours." His eyes flicked to the ruby from his ring still stuck in the slot where it had broken off, and she caught his drift.

"Thanks," she said before putting her arms around him in a tight hug. "I won't let you down," she whispered.

"No and I won't let you down either," he said solemnly before turning to the intruder and producing a smile. "You must have sneaked aboard when the TARDIS doors were open during that shootout on Probos, which side where you on government or rebels? I thought at the time their weapons had been upgraded by an off world source."

As the two men departed Alex went to the console and removed a pin from her spiky hair, with this she began to prod and poke at the small ruby in an effort to insert it deeper into the slot. Totally failing to do so she bent down and looked for the rest of the ring. There it was near the bureau, crawling over and picking it up she took it to the slot and placed the broken portion near the ruby.

At once an arc of red light jumped from stone to ring and the two fused themselves back together as the ring repaired itself in a way she'd seen other parts of this amazing ship do. With the ring this whole Alex pushed down, the slot gave a ping and a column of blue lights came on. COMMAND ACCEPTED said a display and around the room a strange unearthly wind started up as the wooden walls began to creak and contract.

The medical bay was a stark contrast to the secondary control room being stark white and blue with a futuristic feel to its many computers and diagnostic monitors, in the centre was an elevated cream leather chair and climbing onto this the Doctor adjusted its height and angle of elevation. "Do you know where everything is? Oh yes I see you do. Odd how familiar you are with the layout of my ship, almost as if you've been on it before or at least seen detailed specs. May I ask who you are before you end my 8th life?"

The cloaked, sinister figure brought a trolley over to the chair upon this was a device like a small satellite dish on an angle poise arm. This was positioned over the Doctor's chest and the probe in the centre of the dish extended several inches until it was almost touching him.

"What do you need artron energy for? I know it isn't unique to time lords but it is extremely rare and highly unstable to other life forms."

The bizarre overlapped face peered down and in the eyes the Doctor was sure he could detect a hunger, a desire, an almost burning obsession to harm him. He had of course run through the usual list of suspects like the Master, the Rani and various other renegades, fanatics and misfits but this character didn't feel or act like any of them. There was no gloating, no speeches, no attempt to overly humiliate him or dramatise the situation. Alex had been threatened but not overly so, and the alien had even agreed to let her go. Not a promise he needed to keep of course, but if he wanted her dead he could have done that on Probos or any time since.

"Artron heals," came the blunt response. "All sorts of things."

Yes it did the Doctor was thinking but only if compatible with the biology of the recipient.

"And what is you need healing? You don't seem physically impaired to me."

"You know nothing about me Doctor."

The probe began to glow, as did the base of the angle poise arm and a terminal nearby. The Doctor felt a vital force being drawn out of him through his chest, soon he knew he would be even weaker so weak in fact as to be infirm.

"I know you need to regenerate," he said suddenly it was a guess but an astute one and by the reaction he knew he was right. "Yes and quite badly I'd say, there's a definite urgency in all this if not an undue haste; I'm not the only one running out of time."

The power of the machine was increasing and the intruder extruded a cable from his chest to attach it to the collector arm. As soon as this was done a current in the form of white heat surged from the Doctor to his opponent further weakening the time lord as vital resources were drawn away. He didn't have long perhaps a few minutes and with no artron reserves he wouldn't even be able to regenerate.

Then a shudder passed through the medical bay, a quake-type rattle that threw small objects to the floor where they smashed, dented or bounced. Alarmingly the walls bulged inwards snapping shelves and propelling unfixed cabinets in all directions. One of these struck the alien and knocked him sideways so that his connector cable snapped. Also struck the probe over the Doctor fizzed and died, he himself was flung from the chair and landed on all fours gasping and sweating with weakness and nausea.

No strength – he didn't seem to have any left and just squatted there fighting for oxygen. In a broken mirror he caught sight of his face it was so pale, so gaunt, lines of age etched around the flesh of his eyes and mouth. Lying not far away the alien was on his back, something had gone wrong with his chameleonic wrap, its internal systems seemed to have fused and the blur around the face was clearing to expose…

The Doctor was stunned, as this guy was in worse shape than him. The flesh was like burnt cheese with large scabs bulging from cheeks and forehead, the features were bent out of shape and twisted in all directions with the mouth being a jagged rip devoid of lips. The nose was squashed with four nostrils and the eyes were a hideous denial of normality with the left being a vast bulging tumour whilst the right was barely a slit. As the Doctor watched the flesh bulged and heaved like porridge coming to the boil, pustules formed over the neck and jowls to burst in tiny viscous eruptions.

The alien's chest and arms bulged under the tight confines of the suit and a thick syrupy substance oozed from neck and cuffs.

Sigma particle decay the Doctor thought, this maniac whoever he was had attempted time travel by using a flawed and lethal method long illegal on his home world. But that still didn't tell the Doctor who he was looking at.

The decaying, bleeding ruin of a face turned to him, "What have you done Doctor, sacrificed your entire ship, is it worth it?"

Alex ran from the control room as its walls yawned it at her splitting their wood panelling asunder, the wooden console cracked down all six sides and the top spewed mini geysers of smoke and foam as though the TARDIS were having an epileptic fit. The corridor outside was no safer as walls and ceiling bulged, contorted, split and melted. Staggering from side to side the girl turned a corner and almost crashed into a barriers of twisting, writhing metal that formed thick tendrils almost alive in their vitality. Backing away several steps she ran at the obstruction and launched herself head first into the air, summersaulting in mid flight to land on both feet and continue without pausing towards the medical bay.

The door of this was even more badly warped as where the walls around it, she screamed the Doctor's name getting no reply. How did she get in, and what could she do if she succeeded? Was the ship dying, was it breaking apart because it sure seemed like it to her as the pathways and guts of the bizarre craft reconfigured themselves with groans and screams.

Nothing for it Alex decided but to take the initiative, she kicked at the bending, twisting door with all her strength she had to help the Doctor – who else would?

Back on his feet the decaying alien stood over his time lord host, "Only one of us can live Doctor, and it must be me."

Barely able to lift his head the Doctor blinked tired eyes, even if this maniac took all his energy it wouldn't reverse sigma particle sickness, there was no cure merely a series of ever more desperate delays. In the end the alien would die in agony, his efforts totally wasted.

"I can't let you do this," he croaked each word took a momentous effort from a dry throat and tight chest.

"You cannot stop me old man," Gripping his victim by the neck the alien flipped him over and extruded a new cable this time from his collar. "I did hope to spare you the pain of an undignified death but it seems you prefer things the hard way."

"Just one thing," the Doctor croaked. "Your name, who are you?"

"No time for the CV I'm afraid, I have a life to save and another to extinguish."

A needle pricked the Doctor in the throat and he slumped with a pitiful croak.

Alex barely had time to take in what she was seeing, and register the sheer horror of it. The Doctor was being murdered before her eyes by something out of hell. Seeing an oxygen cylinder lying on the floor to her left she picked it up, transported to where the monster stood and swung it with all her strength crying the word "NOOOOOO."

Suddenly the needle was gone, the bleed of energy ceased and the Doctor fell on his back fighting for breath his vision milking over and head spinning. He was still alive and he didn't deserve to be because his crazy gamble with the TARDIS interior hadn't worked, the forced reconfiguration had done no more than send a violent fever through the old girl and he knew the feeling as his insides were shifting to.

His vision cleared for a moment to take in a girl's face, but who was she? "I know you," he gasped.

"Just hang on Doctor, there must be medicines here that can help."

"The alien?"

"I think I killed him."

"Check for a pulse, if he's still alive take that cable of his and connect it to…it to…" The Doctor slumped.

Desperately Alex checked, the creature had the weakest of pulses even with a cracked skull. Picking up the dangling cable she took it over to the Doctor,

"Tell me what to do Doctor, come on stay with me and give me instructions."

"Need my artron energy back," came the gasp. "Can't regenerate without it."

Letting him see the cable Alex patted his thin, wasted cheeks softly. "Do you want me to inject you with this, is that the deal?"

The head shook and a trembling hand rose in it was something she knew, a long slender metal object. "Base," came the whisper. There was a small connector plug in the base of the screwdriver, and the needle went in but only so far.

"Damn, it won't fit." Said the girl.

"No matter hold it in place yourself and adjust the power setting to the alpha symbol, that's the serpent with two heads."

With sweating, trembling fingers Alex did so. "Okay."

"Power on to full."

"What happens then?"

The Doctor gave a feeble smile full of irony, "To you – nothing." He croaked then his head fell back with a semi-contented smile.


End file.
